Independent India has for long based its development strategy on mixed economy and planning, without sufficiently lowering the extent of poverty. During the 80s, some Indian states kept de facto a process of planning from above, as illustrated by J. Racine in a study of the South Arcot district in Tamilnadu. By contrast, other states have tried to implement more seriously a new line of decentralized planning, as illustrated by A. Aziz’s study of Karnataka. But the real impact of such a reform on democratic decentralisation of power and on genuine development, appears limited. From a technical perspective, and from a political point of view, decentralised planning is no more a myth, but it is still a challenge.